This interesting name is Norman in origin, and comes from either of the places 'Sauville' or 'Sainville' in Euro-et-Loire. The latter of these placenames is so called from the old French word 'saisne', meaning 'Saxon', as in the Germanic tribe, and 'ville', meaning 'settlement'. The Savilles have held lands in Yorkshire since the time of Henry 111 (the 13th century), and Lord Saville was a strong supporter of parliament in the civil wars (1642 - 1660). The variant name developments include Alice Savell married John Wyar at St. Botolphs in 1570, Ann Sivill was christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London in 1671, whilst John Sivell was a witness at St. Giles on December 9th 1723. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Sayvill which was dated 1246, in the Fines Court Records, Yorkshire during the reign of King Henry 111, known as the Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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